''I, Me, Mine'' is an autobiographic memoir by the English musician

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

, formerly of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. It was published in 1980 as a hand-bound, limited edition book by Genesis Publications, with a mixture of printed text and multi-colour facsimiles of Harrison's handwritten song lyrics. It was limited to 2,000 signed copies, with a foreword and narration by

Derek Taylor Derek Wyn Taylor (7 May 1932 – 8 September 1997) was a British journalist, writer, publicist and record producer. He is best known for his role as press officer to the Beatles, with whom he worked in 1964 and then from 1968 to 1970, and was ...

. The Genesis limited edition sold out soon after publication, and it was subsequently published in hardback and paperback in black ink by W H Allen in London and by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

in New York.

Background

The project marked a departure for Genesis Publications, which had previously focused on facsimile editions of historical nautical journals, including ''The Log of H.M.S. Bounty 1787–1789''. Brian Roylance, who founded the company in 1974, said of Harrison's memoir: "I saw the song lyrics as important documents – as important as all the other things I was publishing." Genesis subsequently became a leading publisher of

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

-related illustrated books, including further titles by Harrison and Taylor, as well as books about the Beatles,

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

, among others.

Reception

''I, Me, Mine'' was released a few months before

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

in December 1980. Lennon took offence at Harrison's book, telling interviewer

David Sheff David Sheff (born December 23, 1955) is an American author. He is best known for his interviews with artists, scientists, and pop culture figures, as well as his non-fiction books. Much of his writing, including his memoir ''Beautiful Boy: A Fat ...

: "I was hurt by it ... By glaring omission in the book, my influence on his life is absolutely zilch and nil ... I'm not in the book." Harrison does mention Lennon several times, although not as a musical influence, which was the point of Lennon's displeasure. In December 1987, Harrison was asked about Lennon's comments by Selina Scott on the television show '' West 57th Street''. He told her: " ennonwas annoyed 'cause I didn't say that he'd written one line of this song '

Taxman "Taxman" is a song by English rock band the Beatles, from their 1966 album ''Revolver''. Written by the group's lead guitarist, George Harrison, with some lyrical assistance from John Lennon, it protests against the higher level of progressive ...

'. But I also didn't say how I wrote two lines of '

Come Together "Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on the band's 1969 studio album ''Abbey Road''. It was also a double A-side single in the U ...

' or three lines of '

Eleanor Rigby "Eleanor Rigby" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album ''Revolver''. It was also issued on a double A-side single, paired with " Yellow Submarine". Credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership, the s ...

', you know? I wasn't getting into any of that. I think, in the balance, I would have had more things to be niggled with him about than he would have had with me."

Later editions

In 2002, ''I, Me, Mine'' was re-published with a new foreword by Harrison's widow, Olivia. A third version of the book, now containing "59 additional handwritten lyrics and unpublished photographs not found in the original printing", was released in February 2017 to mark what would have been Harrison's 74th birthday.

References

{{The Beatles literature 1980 non-fiction books Music autobiographies George Harrison Books about the Beatles British autobiographies Genesis Publications books